It started with a DC United match she was dreading. It ended with standing in a torrential downpour at the Club World Cup, soaked and completely unbothered, watching Real Madrid play. That's what this sport does.
The writer — a lifelong Philadelphian who wore Eagles gear without actually understanding how football works — credits her youngest son with flipping the switch. He picked up soccer at school, turned zealot fast, and dragged her to her first live match. She expected boredom. She found fireworks, drums, a stadium small enough to actually feel the game, and 90 minutes that held her attention start to finish. That was it. No going back.
What soccer gave her that other sports didn't
The comparison to other sports is telling. She's attended Super Bowls, celebrated an Eagles championship in the streets of Philadelphia, and still can't explain what a first down is. Baseball games are an exercise in finding excuses to leave early. Soccer, somehow, is different — the pace, the crowd culture, the clarity of the game itself.
That accessibility matters. Soccer's supporter culture — the organized chants, the drums, the scarves — creates an atmosphere that NFL and MLB stadiums rarely match outside of playoffs. It's part of why the sport converts people the way it does. You don't need to understand tactical systems to feel it.
Since that first DC United game, her family has toured stadiums across their travels, made pilgrimages to see Real Madrid at last summer's Club World Cup in Philadelphia, and her son now plays on a travel team several times a week. This isn't casual fandom. It's a lifestyle shift.
The 2026 World Cup problem
Now she wants in on the biggest version of all of it — the 2026 FIFA World Cup, hosted across the United States — and she's hitting the same wall as thousands of other fans. Multiple lottery entries. Several credit card presales. Nothing.
She's banking on resale prices dropping as the tournament approaches, though she admits the Taylor Swift Eras Tour — which she did successfully crack for her daughter — didn't follow that pattern. World Cup resale markets tend to be even more stubborn: a genuinely global event, finite seats, and buyers flying in from every continent willing to pay almost anything.
- The 2026 World Cup runs across 16 host cities in the US, Canada, and Mexico
- The United States is co-hosting for the first time since 1994
- Demand for tickets has vastly outpaced supply in every sales phase so far
If she can't get in, she's already planning watch parties and surrounding events — but she's clear that it won't be the same. It won't be. Watching on a screen outside a bar is a fine experience. It is not the same as being inside the stadium when a World Cup goal goes in.
Her son keeps reminding her she found a way to Taylor Swift. She'll find a way to this.
